Irony Alert: Rookie WR Patton misses flight to Bay Area

The 49ers’ draft pick who had already claimed The Least Likely To Arrive Late To Rookie Minicamp award was, of course, tardy.

In a wonderful irony, wide receiver Quinton Patton missed his 7 a.m. flight from Nashville to the Bay Area on Thursday because he couldn’t locate his driver’s license. Patton eventually uncovered his I.D. – it was deep in his luggage, buried in a pants pocket – and arrived in California at 4 p.m., four hours later than expected.

Two days after he was drafted, the fourth-round pick endeared himself to Jim Harbaugh by paying for his own plane ticket and rental car in hopes of reporting for NFL duty. The 49ers had to tell Patton to return to San Francisco International Airport and fly back to Tennessee. Per league rules, the team’s rookies weren’t allowed to be at the facility until Thursday.

Patton’s emotions when he missed his flight Thursday? “I was like ‘Man, I tried to come out there early last time and now I can’t even get out there this time.”

Patton was in attendance at this morning’s practice – the first of the three-day minicamp — and his much-anticipated introduction to the NFL included a wake-up call. As with the wide receiver the 49ers drafted last year – first-round pick A.J. Jenkins – Patton said the pace of his first practice was a reminder that he was no longer at Louisiana Tech.

“I got a little tired,” he said. “You can prepare and train all you can, but there’s still going to be a little twist that they throw in.”

Harbaugh, who had termed Patton his favorite draft pick because of his enthusiasm, had pledged to meet the rookie with a huge embrace when he finally arrived in Santa Clara. Today, Patton said he’s still waiting for the warm introduction.

“I didn’t get the big bear hug yet,” Patton said. “But it’s coming. I know it’s coming. I might have to go give it to him first.”